The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current, January 31, 2020, WEEKEND EDITION, Image 8

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The Observer., January 31, 2020, WEEKEND EDITION, Page 8, Image 8

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Newspaper Page TextSPORTS 8A — THE OBSERVER FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2020 SCOREBOARD LOCAL SCHEDULE Saturday Prep girls basketball Enterprise at Weston- McEwen, 4 p.m. Pilot Rock at Union, 4 p.m. Griswold at Elgin, 4 p.m. Wallowa at Nixyaawii, 4 p.m. Powder Valley at Cove, 4 p.m. Pine Eagle at Imbler, 4 p.m. PREP BOYS BASKETBALL Pilot Rock at Union, 5:30 p.m. Enterprise at Weston- McEwen, 5:30 p.m. Powder Valley at Cove, 5:30 p.m. Griswold at Elgin, 5:30 p.m. Wallowa at Nixyaawii, 5:30 p.m. Pine Eagle at Imbler, 5:30 p.m. PREP SWIMMING La Grande, Cove at LHS home meet, noon MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL Eastern Oregon at Multnomah, 7:30 p.m. WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL Eastern Oregon at Multnomah, 5:30 p.m. MEN’S COLLEGE WRESTLING Clackamas CC at Eastern Oregon, 1 p.m. North Idaho College at Eastern Oregon, 3 p.m. University of Providence at Eastern Oregon, 5 p.m. WOMEN’S COLLEGE WRESTLING University of Providence at Eastern Oregon, 5 p.m. Southern Oregon at Eastern Oregon, 6 p.m. PREP WRESTLING La Grande at Reser’s Tournament of Champions, Hillsboro, all day Elgin, Enterprise, Imbler, Joseph/Wallowa at BEO Invitational, Heppner, all day Union/Cove at Ilwaco Beach Brawl, Ilwaco, Washington, all day Sunday MEN’S COLLEGE WRESTLING Eastern Oregon at Mountaineer Open, all day — Subject to change Colorado Dallas Nashville Chicago Winnipeg Minnesota 49 28 15 6 62 179 143 50 28 18 4 60 131 127 50 24 19 7 55 169 168 51 24 21 6 54 155 161 51 25 22 4 54 152 160 50 23 21 6 52 156 166 Pacifi c Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Vancouver 51 29 18 4 62 170 152 Calgary 52 27 19 6 60 143 155 Edmonton 50 26 18 6 58 158 157 Arizona 53 26 21 6 58 150 145 Vegas 52 25 20 7 57 161 159 San Jose 52 22 26 4 48 136 174 Anaheim 50 20 25 5 45 128 156 Los Angeles 52 19 28 5 43 130 164 All Times PST Wednesday’s Games Toronto 5, Dallas 3 Nashville 5, Washington 4 Anaheim 4, Arizona 2 Calgary 4, Edmonton 3, SO Tampa Bay 4, Los Angeles 2 Vancouver 5, San Jose 2 Thursday’s Games Montreal 3, Buffalo 1 Nashville 6, New Jersey 5, SO Los Angeles 3, Arizona 2, OT Friday’s Games Detroit at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m. Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, 4 p.m. Vegas at Carolina, 4:30 p.m. Washington at Ottawa, 4:30 p.m. Boston at Winnipeg, 5 p.m. St. Louis at Edmonton, 6 p.m. Tampa Bay at Anaheim, 7 p.m. Saturday’s Games Columbus at Buffalo, 10 a.m. Vancouver at N.Y. Islanders, 10 a.m. Florida at Montreal, 11 a.m. N.Y. Rangers at Detroit, 4 p.m. Dallas at New Jersey, 4 p.m. Colorado at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Ottawa at Toronto, 4 p.m. St. Louis at Winnipeg, 4 p.m. Chicago at Arizona, 5 p.m. Boston at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Vegas at Nashville, 5 p.m. Edmonton at Calgary, 7 p.m. Anaheim at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. Tampa Bay at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. Sunday’s Games Pittsburgh at Washington, 9:30 a.m. Columbus at Montreal, 11 a.m. Vancouver at Carolina, 11 a.m. Monday’s Games Dallas at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m. Florida at Toronto, 4 p.m. Philadelphia at Detroit, 4:30 p.m. FOOTBALL NFL Playoffs HOCKEY NHL Standings EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Boston 51 29 10 12 70 169 135 Tampa Bay 50 30 15 5 65 181 142 Florida 49 28 16 5 61 183 163 Toronto 51 27 17 7 61 186 170 Montreal 52 23 22 7 53 160 162 Buffalo 51 22 22 7 51 148 160 Ottawa 50 18 23 9 45 138 169 Detroit 51 12 35 4 28 109 199 Metropolitan Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Washington 51 34 12 5 73 185 151 Pittsburgh 50 31 14 5 67 168 136 N.Y. Islanders 49 29 15 5 63 143 132 Columbus 51 27 16 8 62 138 130 Carolina 50 29 18 3 61 159 132 Philadelphia 50 27 17 6 60 158 150 N.Y. Rangers 48 23 21 4 50 158 159 New Jersey 50 18 24 8 44 135 182 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA St. Louis 51 31 12 8 70 164 141 All Times PST Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 2 At Miami Gardens, Fla. Kansas City vs. San Francisco, 3:30 p.m. (FOX) BASKETBALL NBA Standings EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L Pct GB Toronto 34 14 .708 — Boston 32 15 .681 1½ Philadelphia 31 18 .633 3½ Brooklyn 20 26 .435 13 New York 13 36 .265 21½ Southeast Division W L Pct GB Miami 32 15 .681 — Orlando 21 27 .438 11½ Washington 16 31 .340 16 Charlotte 16 32 .333 16½ Atlanta 13 36 .265 20 Central Division W L Pct GB Milwaukee 41 6 .872 — Indiana 31 17 .646 10½ Chicago 19 31 .380 23½ Detroit 17 32 .347 25 Cleveland 13 36 .265 29 WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division W L Pct GB Dallas 29 18 .617 — Houston 29 18 .617 — Memphis 24 24 .500 5½ San Antonio 21 26 .447 8 New Orleans 19 29 .396 10½ Northwest Division W L Pct GB Denver 33 15 .688 — Utah 32 16 .667 1 Oklahoma City 29 20 .592 4½ Portland 21 27 .438 12 Minnesota 15 32 .319 17½ Pacifi c Division W L Pct GB L.A. Lakers 36 10 .783 — L.A. Clippers 33 15 .688 4 Phoenix 20 27 .426 16½ Sacramento 18 30 .375 19 Golden State 10 39 .204 27½ All Times PST Wednesday’s Games Indiana 115, Chicago 106, OT Brooklyn 125, Detroit 115 Memphis 127, New York 106 San Antonio 127, Utah 120 Portland 125, Houston 112 Oklahoma City 120, Sacramento 100 Thursday’s Games Washington 121, Charlotte 107 Toronto 115, Cleveland 109 Atlanta 127, Philadelphia 117 Boston 119, Golden State 104 Sacramento 124, L.A. Clippers 103 Denver 106, Utah 100 Friday’s Games Toronto at Detroit, 4 p.m. Chicago at Brooklyn, 4:30 p.m. Dallas at Houston, 5 p.m. Memphis at New Orleans, 5 p.m. Denver at Milwaukee, 6 p.m. Oklahoma City at Phoenix, 6 p.m. Portland at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m. Saturday’s Games Minnesota at L.A. Clippers, 12:30 p.m. Miami at Orlando, 4 p.m. New York at Indiana, 4 p.m. Brooklyn at Washington, 5 p.m. Golden State at Cleveland, 5 p.m. Atlanta at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Boston, 5:30 p.m. Charlotte at San Antonio, 6 p.m. L.A. Lakers at Sacramento, 7 p.m. Utah at Portland, 7:30 p.m. Sunday’s Games Denver at Detroit, 9:30 a.m. New Orleans at Houston, 11 a.m. Phoenix at Milwaukee, 11 a.m. Chicago at Toronto, noon Monday’s Games Dallas at Indiana, 4 p.m. Golden State at Washington, 4 p.m. New York at Cleveland, 4 p.m. Orlando at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Boston at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Miami, 4:30 p.m. Phoenix at Brooklyn, 4:30 p.m. Detroit at Memphis, 5 p.m. Minnesota at Sacramento, 7 p.m. San Antonio at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m. LOCAL STANDINGS Men’s College Basketball Cascade Collegiate Conference Team CCC All College of Idaho 13-0 20-3 Northwest 9-2 14-6 Southern Oregon 10-3 16-5 Warner Pacifi c 7-5 12-9 Oregon Tech 6-5 16-5 Northwest Christian 6-6 11-11 Eastern Oregon 4-7 10-10 Multnomah 4-8 11-11 Walla Walla 4-8 6-16 Corban 4-10 10-14 Evergreen 0-13 3-16 Women’s College Basketball Cascade Collegiate Conference Team CCC All Northwest Christian 10-2 16-4 Corban 10-4 14-8 Eastern Oregon 8-3 14-7 Southern Oregon 9-4 13-7 Warner Pacifi c 7-5 10-10 Oregon Tech 6-5 12-9 College of Idaho 7-6 9-13 Northwest 4-7 6-15 Evergreen 4-9 4-12 Multnomah 1-11 4-15 Walla Walla 1-11 3-18 OSAA Boys Basketball 4A-6 Greater Oregon League GOL All PF PA RK La Grande 3-0 4-11 761 857 20 Baker 2-1 12-9 1178 1060 18 McLoughlin 1-2 7-11 800 869 27 Ontario 0-3 2-18 870 1259 34 2A-6 Blue Mountain Conference BMC All PF PA RK Grant Union 6-1 11-5 884 782 13 Pilot Rock 5-3 15-3 1051 839 8 Union 4-3 13-7 1003 853 17 Heppner 4-3 9-8 864 823 22 Stanfi eld 4-3 9-9 945 909 21 Enterprise 1-6 5-9 664 732 30 Weston-McEwen 1-6 4-14 872 1106 40 1A-7 Old Oregon League OOL All PF PA RK Powder Valley 6-0 14-4 1274 924 12 Nixyaawii 5-0 14-4 1270 983 5 Elgin 4-2 9-7 823 805 32 Joseph 3-2 12-5 958 775 8 Imbler 3-2 5-9 564 662 43 Wallowa 2-5 6-11 734 911 45 Pine Eagle 1-3 4-7 556 551 44 Cove 0-4 1-14 512 855 62 Griswold 0-6 5-12 752 995 54 OSAA Girls Basketball 4A-6 Greater Oregon League GOL All PF PA RK Baker 3-0 18-2 1100 609 4 La Grande 2-1 11-5 867 669 3 McLoughlin 1-2 8-11 682 786 23 Ontario 0-3 1-16 512 836 31 2A-6 Blue Mountain Conference BMC All PF PA RK Union 7-0 17-3 929 582 4 Stanfi eld 6-1 15-3 888 582 Enterprise 5-2 13-3 716 493 Heppner 3-4 10-6 703 615 Grant Union 3-4 5-11 533 686 Pilot Rock 1-7 5-13 531 789 Weston-McEwen 0-7 2-16 491 801 1A-7 Old Oregon League OOL All PF PA Joseph 5-0 12-5 716 587 Elgin 5-1 13-3 780 521 Wallowa 5-2 10-8 805 695 Powder Valley 4-2 8-8 592 589 Nixyaawii 2-3 6-10 709 737 Cove 1-3 8-7 608 536 Pine Eagle 1-3 5-6 420 485 Imbler 1-4 1-14 344 625 Griswold 0-6 8-9 515 620 11 6 17 27 39 40 RK 4 16 13 20 27 32 35 60 46 TENNIS Australian Open At Melbourne Park Melbourne, Australia Friday Men’s Singles Semifi nals Dominic Thiem (5), Austria, def. Alex- ander Zverev (7), Germany, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4). Women’s Doubles Championship Kristina Mladenovic, France, and Timea Babos (2), Hungary, def. Barbora Stry- cova, Czech Republic, and Hsieh Su-wei (1), Taiwan, 6-2, 6-1. Mixed Doubles Semifi nals Nikola Mektic, Croatia, and Barbora Krejcikova (5), Czech Republic, def. Henri Kontinen, Finland, and Gabriela Dab- rowski (3), Canada, 3-6, 6-3, 10-5. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, United States, and Jamie Murray, Britain, def. John-Patrick Smith and Astra Sharma, Australia, 6-3, 7-6 (4). Thursday Men’s Singles Semifi nals Novak Djokovic (2), Serbia, def. Roger Federer (3), Switzerland, 7-6 (1), 6-4, 6-3. Women’s Singles Semifi nals Sofi a Kenin (14), United States, def. Ashleigh Barty (1), Australia, 7-6 (6), 7-5. Garbine Muguruza, Spain, def. Simona Halep (4), Romania, 7-6 (8), 7-5. Men’s Doubles Semifi nals Rajeev Ram, United States, and Joe Salisbury (11), Britain, def. Mikhail Kukushkin and Alexander Bublik, Kazakh- stan, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Luke Saville and Max Purcell, Australia, def. Ivan Dodig, Croatia, and Filip Polasek (4), Slovakia, 6-7 (7), 6-3, 6-4. Mixed Doubles Quarterfi nals John-Patrick Smith and Astra Sharma, Australia, def. Lukasz Kubot and Iga Swiatek, Poland, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 10-3. Nikola Mektic, Croatia, and Barbora Krejcikova (5), Czech Republic, def. Ro- han Bopanna, India, and Nadiia Kichenok, Ukraine, 6-0, 6-2. Henri Kontinen, Finland, and Gabriela Dabrowski (3), Canada, def. Ivan Dodig, Croatia, and Latisha Chan (6), Taiwan, 7-5, 7-6 (2). Beavers, Ducks both pick up victories in the Bay Area The Associated Press Jarod Lucas scored a season- high 21 points, Kylor Kelly matched his season-high with seven blocks and Oregon State ended a four-game losing streak to Stanford with a 68-63 victory Thursday night. Tres Tinkle added 15 points and Ethan Thompson had 14 for the Beavers (13-8, 3-6 Pac-12), who also ended a four-game slide. Oscar da Silva scored 22 points and had eight rebounds to lead Stanford (15-5, 4-3), which has lost three straight. Tyrell Terry added 13 points and Daejon Davis had 12. Kelly, who also scored 10 points, moved into fi rst place all-time with 185 career blocks. He ranks second in the nation in blocked shots. An offensive rebound and layup by da Silva brought the Cardinal within 65-63 with 20 seconds left but Oregon State made its free throws. Isaac White’s putback with 12:48 remaining to play brought Stanford within 46-44 but Lucas answered, converting a three-point play. Terry hit a layup to make it a one-point game, but the Beavers scored 12 unanswered points to open a 13-point edge with 8:35 to play. Tinkle scored the fi nal two points of the rally on a pair of tech- nical fouls shots Oregon State outscored the Car- dinal 15-3 over the fi nal 4:05 and the Beavers took a 31-22 lead into halftime. Lucas, whose previous best was 12 points, scored 11 of his points during that span. Ducks get by California Payton Pritchard scored 21 points and broke Oregon’s all-time assists record in leading the No. 11 Ducks to a 77-72 victory over California on Thursday night. Chris Duarte added 19 points as Oregon (18-4, 7-2 Pac-12) remained on top of the conference standings with the victory. Matt Bradley scored a season- high 27 points to lead Cal (9-11, 3-4). Pritchard was held to just two points in the fi rst half and scored SUPER BOWL Continued from Page 7A Staff photo by Ronald Bond Eastern Oregon University softball coach Nicole Christian speaks to her team Tuesday during practice at Community Stadium. EASTERN Continued from Page 7A starting lineup from a year ago graduated, Christian said there is “leadership all over the fi eld” among the returning seniors, including from Kazmierski, Pockling- ton, infi elder Jordan Shaw, outfi elder Julie Hernandez, utility player Katie Silvestri and catcher Jordan Henley. Underclassmen make up the majority of the roster, which has seven freshmen and six sophomores, but it’s a young group that excites Christian. “Taylor Dow is a freshman that came in. She’s loud. She’s exciting. And we had transfers who have a lot of talent,” Christian said. She also gets to side with a player she saw on the op- posing bench for four years at Mac-Hi in Alaina Carson, who was a four-year starter for the Tigers. “I fi nally have her on my team so I’m excited about that. We just have a great group of freshmen,” Chris- tian said. Carson said Christian is bringing an aggressive approach to the offense, and that, blended with success during fall practice, has her optimistic for the season. “We had a really good fall season,” Carson said. “I’m excited to see where it goes during spring. I think overall we’re a really good team, we’re working hard, and I’m excited to see where it takes us.” Eastern will have its work cut out for it in a loaded Cas- cade Collegiate Conference that sent four teams to the NAIA national tournament, including eventual national champion Southern Oregon. The Mountaineers were tied for seventh in the CCC preseason coaches’ poll, but Christian is optimistic the team can crack into the top fi ve and has no problem with other teams looking past EOU. “I’ll take people overlook- ing us any day because I know the underdogs sometimes surprise a lot of people,” she said. Henley, who called the CCC “one of the most com- petitive conferences in the nation,” also is hopeful about what the team can do. “This is a great group of girls, and (we can accom- plish) pretty much what we can set our minds to,” the senior said. “I think we’re going to go far this year, and I’m super excited to get playing.” EOU begins the season Feb. 8 at Western Oregon and plays its fi rst home game — and fi rst CCC matchup — Feb. 21 against University of Providence. in the NFC title game. “This franchise has a lot of history and accomplishments. Of course we want to add to that.” Mostert is one of a fi eld full of players who will push the thrill throttle to the fl oor and keep it there. So is Kelce. But Kelce might not be the best tight end in the game. It’s close, but 49ers All-Pro George Kittle is just as capable of break- ing open this Super Bowl with something spectacular. And celebrate it almost as adeptly as J-Lo and Shakira will fi ll the halftime stage. “I think we both have a really good time playing football,” Kittle said. “You can see that on the tape. We both just enjoy being out there with our teammates. We both make plays when we’re asked to, and I think we both make plays when we’re not asked to.” Both teams have wideouts capable of swinging momentum in their team’s favor. For the Chiefs it’s perhaps the speediest group the NFL has seen. Tyreek Hill is sure of it. “If I’m healthy and my mind is in the right place, I’d go try out for the Olympics, put together a relay,” Hill said. “We’d show these track guys, ‘Hey, we football players can do that, too.’” He’s put fellow receivers Sammy Watkins and rookie Mecole Hardman on that relay. “It almost looks like they got their roster from the Olympic relay team and threw them all on the football fi eld,” 49ers defen- sive coordinator Robert Saleh said. “Not to say they can’t run routes and catch either, because they can do that. They’re a special group and you can see why they’re there.” Still, the 49ers have a clutch receiver in veteran Emmanuel Sanders, a rookie with no fear of going anywhere on the fi eld — or above it — to make a catch in Deebo Sam- uel, and an emerging talent in Kendrick Bourne. Just like with Kansas City, they’re capable of making a difference. So is San Francisco’s defense, and it will need to be at optimal precision to deal with perhaps the most electrifying player of them all in this Super Bowl: Chiefs quarter- 19 in the second. The senior guard immediately made his presence felt when he returned from the intermission. With the score tied at 32 at the half, Pritchard made a 3-pointer and followed up by converting a three- point play with a reverse layup. Cal (9-11, 3-4) took a 54-47 lead midway through the second half, but the Ducks went ahead for good on Anthony Mathis’ 3-pointer that snapped a 58-58 tie with 6:53 remaining. back Patrick Mahomes. The 49ers have a powerful pass rush sparked by a deep front four that includes a sack threat at every spot — including one rookie, Nick Bosa. A year ago, the Niners were so bad they had the second overall draft pick. They took edge rusher Bosa, and look where they are now. The Niners have 57 sacks including the playoffs, with veteran linebacker Dee Ford, Bosa, Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner all having at least 7-1/2. Fred Warner has developed into a versatile linebacker and Richard Sherman remains one of the NFL’s great cornerbacks — an action guy who will love taking on Mahomes. “We believe in each other,” Sherman said. “We believe in the scheme. We believe in what we’ve done all year, and we plan on going out there and putting a good product on tape and seeing how it goes.” For Kansas City, whose defense per- formed particularly well down the stretch of the regular season but hasn’t been so stingy in spots during the postseason, how it goes Sunday very possibly will depend on how successful Mahomes is. The 49ers don’t need their QB, Jimmy Garoppolo, to be extra special; he’s been more of a caretaker behind that monstrous running game and defense in the two postseason victories. Make no mistake about Mahomes: Kansas City needs him to be, well, vintage Mahomes. Which means big plays with his arm, thrown from angles we didn’t know existed. Howitzer throws as he rolls out — even to his left — and doesn’t bother fully planting his legs. Maybe even the tightrope kind of run down the sideline that still has NFL folks shaking their heads in wonder. “You have to accept the excitement that it is,” Mahomes said this week as he stood on a podium and spoke to reporters. “It’s amaz- ing to be here, to be in this atmosphere, to be at this podium. It’s where you want to be when you start training camp in St. Joe, Missouri. For me, to be in this moment, I’m just enjoying it as much as possible.” Chances are, Mahomes and his team- mates, along with the 49ers, will produce one of those enjoyable, memorable, perhaps even classic Super Bowls.